Rookie ‘Touchdown Maker’ Makes Bold Statement After Signing With Cowboys

When a player doesn’t get selected in the NFL draft, too often we look for smoke where there’s no fire. Sometimes it’s just subjective to the person or team making picks. What could be a red flag to one team might not even matter to another.

Sometimes, though, there are clues. In the case of Dallas Cowboys undrafted free agent wide receiver Traeshon Holden, the writing was on the wall ahead of the 2025 NFL draft and going 7 rounds without hearing a team call his name could be the motivating factor that propels his career forward.

“I was hurt,” Holden told DallasCowboys.com’s Tommy Yarish. “That 24-hour rule, I was hurting. But now, I’m here, and I’m ready to make it happen. I’ll do what I can to show everybody that I belong … (I want) to prove everybody wrong. Everybody. I’m coming for heads. That’s it.”

Holden spent the first 3 seasons of his college career playing at Alabama, where he won a College Football Playoff national championship a a freshman in 2020 and played in the CFP National Championship Game in 2022, where the Crimson Tide lost to Georgia.

He transferred to Oregon for his final 2 seasons, where he had a career high 462 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in just 8 games in 2024.

Earned Reputation as Offensive Threat/Run Blocker

Holden’s time at Alabama and Oregon had something in common — he scored a lot of touchdowns on not a lot of touches.

“Touchdown-maker who averaged a TD grab for every 7.1 catches,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Holden in his pre-draft evaluation. ” … The tape doesn’t stand out, but his physicality and willingness as a run blocker is a differentiator that could help his cause.”

There aren’t many better compliments you can get as a wide receiver than being called a great run blocker and someone who scores a lot of touchdowns in an efficient way. Holden also has ideal wide receiver size at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds.

Figuring Out Why Holden Wasn’t Drafted

Why Holden wasn’t drafted boils down to 2 issues — one on field and one off field.

The on field issue isn’t that complicated. NFL teams think he’s too slow after Holden ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds at the NFL scouting combine in February.

The off field issue is a lot more difficult to decipher.

Holden was dismissed from Oregon’s team by head coach Dan Lanning in February 2023 — one month after he arrived in Eugene — after being arrested on allegations of felony unlawful use of a weapon, coercion and misdemeanor menacing. Lanning put Holden back on the team 2 weeks later when the chargers were dropped after video evidence cleared Holden of any wrongdoing.

One good thing Holden will have working for him in Dallas is that after NFL All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, every spot should be considered wide open. That’s because Lamb hasn’t had another legitimate threat at wide receiver with him on the roster since playing with Amari Cooper his first 2 seasons — a player the Cowboys might be able to bring back in free agency.

While Cooper would be a player that gets fans’ tongues wagging, the better move might be to go young.